Supreme Court directs Centre to constitute tribunal to settle Pennaiyar river dispute between T.N. and Karnataka

The Supreme Court on Monday (February 2, 2026) directed the Centre to constitute a tribunal to adjudicate the dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the sharing of Pennaiyar River water.

A Bench, headed by Justice Vikram Nath, directed the Central government to issue a notification to constitute the inter-State water disputes tribunal within a month.

“The Centre may place the complaint filed by Tamil Nadu before the tribunal upon its constitution,” the Bench said.

Tamil Nadu, in 2018, had moved the Supreme Court against Karnataka over its work on dams and diversions structures on the river. Karnataka had no right to utilise the waters of Pennaiyar river to the detriment of the people of Tamil Nadu, the State had told the court.

Tamil Nadu argued that the flowing of water of an inter-State river is a national asset and no single state can claim exclusive ownership of its water. An 1892 agreement over the river water was “valid and binding” on the party States, it said.

The State further said that a river even included the stream, tributaries and other streams contributing water directly or indirectly into it.

“Thus, the major tributary, Markandeyanadhi, which has its catchment area both in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, cannot be considered to be out of the purview of the Agreement, and hence any new construction obstructing the flow of Markandeya river is governed and controlled by 1892 Agreement,” Tamil Nadu had argued.

Karnataka’s stand that it was free to construct any diversion structure or large dams across Markandeya river was wholly untenable, Tamil Nadu told the top court.